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Upper troposphere dust belt formation processes vary seasonally and spatially in the Northern Hemisphere

Journal Article · · Communications Earth & Environment
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
  2. Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States)
  3. Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)
  4. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Dust aerosols impact global energy balance substantially by acting as efficient ice nuclei to alter cold cloud properties. However, the estimate of dust indirect effect remains uncertain due to simulating dust distributions poorly and lacking reliable dust observations, especially in the upper-troposphere. Here, we characterize and understand upper-troposphere dust sources and transport with an improved dust dataset derived from A-train satellite lidar and radar measurements and an air parcel trajectory model. The distinct upper-troposphere dust belt over the northern hemisphere has seasonally varying base and top heights of 3.65 ± 2.84 and 8.35 ± 1.50 km above mean sea level and its column loading is strongest during spring (March-April-May). The out-of-phase annual cycles of mid-level dust concentration and westerly wind over source regions control the seasonal upper-tropospheric dust loading variations. African deserts contribute the most (46.3%) to the upper-troposphere dust belt in spring and the synoptic trough is the leading (49%) dust lifting mechanism.
Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
NASA; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Earth and Environmental Systems Science Division
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1854255
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-158977
Journal Information:
Communications Earth & Environment, Journal Name: Communications Earth & Environment Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 3; ISSN 2662-4435
Publisher:
Springer NatureCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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